10 WWE Superstars Who Gambled On A Brand New Finisher
7. Stone Cold Steve Austin
Ahead of a WWE move in late-1995, the future Stone Cold Steve Austin made himself a star in Extreme Championship Wrestling with a short sharp shock of a run that played mostly on his previously-untapped promo skill as it did his mechanically excellent in-ring ability.
Signing him directly off the back of this transcendent stint, Vince McMahon promptly reduced him to silent assassin under the management and control of Ted Dibiase.
As The Ringmaster, Austin was hamstrung by the gimmick thrust upon him. He was the Million Dollar Champion, he was the crown jewel of a refined Million Dollar Corporation, and his finisher was - rather predictably - the Million Dollar Dream. His application of the hold was sound enough, but it was yet more tribute act stuff for a character that had been stripped of individualism from the off.
The debut of the Stone Cold Stunner six months into his run came, notably, mere weeks after Dibiase's exit and Austin's King Of The Ring win. It was all changing, and this wasn't the only gamble that paid off.